


Descent

by Davarice



Series: Life Belt [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Post-Apocalypse, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:44:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4060498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davarice/pseuds/Davarice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As an immense ship is destroyed in orbit above a foreign planet, it releases life pods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Descent

**Author's Note:**

> A taster work to determine whether the series will continue.

===========  
Life Belt  
By Davarice  
===========

1\. Descent  
The sky lit up as the pods fell. Tens of thousands of them, circling the planet in ever-declining orbits, their retrograde burns energizing the upper gases into an aurora-like state. High above them, the remnants of the colony ship broke apart as heavy rounds tore into the hull, breaking apart on impact and spreading flak and shrapnel throughout the interior. Many pods, by the haste or hubris of the operators, burned too steep and were torn apart early in their descent. Some, by either sheer luck or skill, made it unscathed to the lower atmosphere, where parachutes were deployed en masse.  
On the dark side the dense air provided drag and brought many a pod to a safe landing. On the light side, boiling clouds of acidic vapor soaked the parachutes, rendering them almost entirely useless. The vast majority fell too rapidly and were destroyed on impact. Some pods, including one branded CDEV-1729/FC, entered the atmosphere of the dark side on a path to the light side. As dawn broke for these select few, the sky became filled with light hail that quickly became heavier and heavier, some of sizes to match the pods themselves. A number of pods were destroyed by impact with the immense masses of ice. The hail transitioned to sleet, then snow, then rain, then scalding mist as the pods progressed.  
In pod CDEV-1729/FC, the pilot was staring out the viewport, teeth gritted in concentration, nearly biting his own tongue off with the effort of navigating the hailstorm. Eight people sat behind him, huddled in the main compartment with a very small amount of luggage stowed under the seats. The one vacant seat was piled with cases of equipment. No doubt its current "occupant" had resulted in someone being left to die back on the colony ship. The craft rumbled as it was shaken by turbulence, and loud clangs could be heard as heavy hailstones impacted the hull. The clangs turned to clinks, and the clinks turned to silence and then to the soft patter of rain as the ship continued westward.  
As the atmospheric effects subsided and the rumbling within slowly quieted, the pilot cut power to the thrusters and two ports unlocked on either side of the exhaust bank. Explosive bolts fired and the panels tore off as narrow drogue chutes deployed. Closer to the front of the craft, glider wings unfolded as the ship shifted into precision landing mode. As the craft continued, distant thunder was heard from ahead as the rain slowly but surely increased in intensity. Steering noiselessly towards a brown plateau, the craft continued to slow and descend. As the craft approached the plateau, another set of explosive bolts fired along the rim of the roof, breaking a vacuum seal. As air rushed in beneath the canvas covering the top, it lifted off the ship to form a massive parachute and arrest most of the remaining forward momentum.  
As the craft slowed for touchdown and the excess Gs dissipated, a communal breath was taken as the passengers of the pod prepared for the final impact. With a massive jolt, the craft made contact with the ground, shuddered for a moment, and came completely to rest. The parachute fell to obscure the starboard viewport while everyone breathed out in unison. A man in a disheveled hazard vest got up, stood on his seat, and opened a panel to reveal a large manual crank. As he turned it, the graphene parachute lines were wound back into their storage coils and the canvas itself was pulled taut back onto the roof.  
The pilot pulled a large lever, and both exit ports slid open with a resounding hiss. He rose, bracing himself with a cane, and faced his passengers for the first time since jettisoning from the colony ship. "So," he addressed them, tongue nearly piercing through his cheek. "How are you all doing today?"


End file.
